sensing the universe multimessenger astronomy

NASA Installs Key ‘Sunblock’ Shield on Roman Space Telescope – NASA

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NASA Installs Key ‘Sunblock’ Shield on Roman Space Telescope – NASA

Technicians have successfully installed two sunshields onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s inner segment. Along with the observatory’s Solar Array Sun Shield and Deployable Aperture Cover, the panels (together called the Lower Instrument Sun Shade), will play a critical role in keeping Roman’s instruments cool and stable as the mission explores the infrared universe. … Read more

NASA’s Tiny BurstCube Mission Launches to Study Cosmic Blasts

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NASA’s Tiny BurstCube Mission Launches to Study Cosmic Blasts

When a gamma ray enters one of BurstCube’s four detectors, it encounters a cesium iodide layer called a scintillator, which converts it into visible light. The light then enters another layer, an array of 116 silicon photomultipliers, that converts it into a pulse of electrons, which is what BurstCube measures. For each gamma ray, the … Read more